LITTLE ROCK — A well-educated voter is critical to democracy and ballot issue education
efforts by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Public Policy
Center have been recognized at the state and national level.

In June, the center received first place in education technology from the National
Association of Community Development Extension Professionals.

This month, Public Policy Center Program Associate Kristin Higgins won first place
in two categories at the annual National Federation of Press Women Conference for
the same ballot issue materials. She received first place at the state competition,
as well.

“Receiving awards like these inspire me to take the next step and search out ways
to improve our ballot issue education program,” Higgins said.

Since 2004, the Public Policy Center has put out nonpartisan educational materials
about every statewide ballot issue to help Arkansans gain a better understanding of
the social, financial or policy implications of a proposed law.

Traditionally, these educational materials included fact sheets covering each ballot
issue. However, with the rapid rise of social media and Arkansans being faced with
the most issues on the ballot since 1968, the Public Policy Center sought to revamp
its education program to reach more voters.

“We knew we had to increase our offerings in 2016 to include individual websites and
videos that would pop up when voters searched for Arkansas ballot issue information,”
Higgins said.

The new online materials were a success. Local agencies and organizations shared the
Public Policy Center’s voter material on their websites.

The Public Policy Center’s website had more than 300,000 views just before the 2016
election.

In addition to the new websites and videos, the Public Policy Center also redesigned
the factsheets, combining them into a voter guide that was easier to distribute. Demand
for the guides also grew.

After each county extension office placed its order for voter guides, many ordering
the same number they had in previous years, they quickly realized that they would
need more to keep up with demand. The Public Policy Center received so many requests
for voter guides from extension offices and other organizations, they couldn’t fulfill
them all.

Higgins said that she views the awards and recognition she and the Public Policy Center
received for their hard work as inspiration to continually improve the Arkansas Ballot
Issue Education Program.

“Arkansas has 1.6 million registered voters and we know we don't reach them all,”
Higgins said. “Awards like these offer some recognition for our work and at the same
time, the judges provide helpful comments on how we can improve our materials for
next time. Those judge comments may lead to reaching more voters.”

To find past ballot issues, visit, www.uaex.edu/ballot. For more information about the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s
Public Policy Center, visit, www.uaex.edu/ppc.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative
Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension
and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex,
gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital
or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and
is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Media Contact: Mary HightowerDir. of Communication ServicesU of A System Division of AgricultureCooperative Extension Service(501) 671-2126mhightower@uaex.edu